November 21, 2007

Exclusive Porn Star Interview: Johnny Castle

STORY AND PHOTOS BY VINCENT LAMBERT

Johnny Castle is in a car heading to the airport, and he’s running late. On a holiday break with his family in Pennsylvania, the 27-year-old porn star, who was recently named Men magazine’s Man of the Year 2007, has flown to Miami for the day “to take care of some business.” Now, he’s on his way back to New York for an appearance on The Derek and Romaine Show to promote his latest achievement.

“It’s a busy time,” Castle says in an exclusive interview with VincentLambert.com. “I had no idea that being Man of the Year was such a big deal! I mean, I knew I was in the running, but I never expect anything until it happens.”

To say things are busy for the New Jersey native who grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, would be an understatement. Since he started in the straight side of the porn industry a couple of years ago, Castle has been prolific, appearing in more than 150 movies. But it wasn’t until earlier this year when he started shooting scenes for the gay market that things really kicked into high gear.

“I had done a lot of scenes with girls,” Castle says, “and it was great getting paid to have sex. I mean, a lot of men have that fantasy. But then I started getting offers to work with guys. I am pretty open-minded, so I started doing solos for Web sites like Randy Blue and Corbin Fisher.”

Castle first got into the business after receiving his master’s degree in psychology. “I was finally done with school,” he recalls. “I was running a furniture store, and I was bored. I wanted to do something different. I started taking acting classes. I put my pictures up on the Internet and started getting offers to model. I realized that the more clothes I took off, the more money I got paid.”

Modeling led to offers from director Chi Chi LaRue and others to appear in films. “I said no to doing movies with guys but yes to doing movies with girls,” Castle says. He began shooting for several major straight production companies, including Hustler, Penthouse, Club Jenna and Adam & Eve. But before he got too deep into the biz, Castle, who says he is “mostly Italian with some Irish,” broke the news to his family. “They have seen my modeling shots. I told my mom I had an opportunity to try something new. She said it wasn’t what she had hoped for, but that it wouldn’t affect our relationship. So she was supportive, but my dad is pretty strict. I don’t really talk to him about this stuff.”

Castle’s rise on the straight side led to the Internet gigs, which led to solo scenes in two gay films. Hustle and Cruise (Falcon Studios) and Sun Soaked (Channel 1 Releasing/Rascal Video) garnered a lot of attention for Castle, who says he didn’t know he would be on the covers of both. “I started realizing who my audience is and decided to take advantage of the situation,” he says simply.

It was around this time that talent agent David Forest entered the picture. “A longtime Meet the Stars client of mine tipped me off to this gorgeous guy he felt I should check on getting,” Forest says. “Johnny was appearing on a lot of Web sites doing solo stuff and had just appeared on the cover of the March 2007 issue of Men. I had no idea that he was about to bust wide open on the box covers of two movies that were coming out at the same time.”

Forest set up a meeting with the screen stud and came up with the idea to send Castle out on the road to capitalize on all the buzz he was getting. “I had never thought about dancing in clubs,” Castle says. “I mean, I wasn’t even the type of guy who went out to clubs and danced for fun. I was more reserved, but when Dave approached me, I thought I could get up and be interactive with the audience.”

Castle admits that he was nervous the first couple of times he faced a live crowd, but it wasn’t anything a “couple of Coronas and a shot of tequila” couldn’t fix. Now he says he enjoys meeting and greeting fans. “The audiences are so friendly and nice, especially in the smaller towns. They are really appreciative.”

Another way that fans will soon be able to appreciate Castle’s killer abs is through his new Web site, www.JohnnyCastleXXX.com. “It will be starting early next year,” he says. “There will be all new material. I will be focusing on shooting stuff and doing Web shows. There will be a member’s area and a blog. People can hit me up, and I can communicate with the fans. And I will be giving exposure to my buddies who are also thinking of doing porn.”

“Johnny loves spotting and helping new male talent,” Forest says. “I think we need to put that special talent to good work, shooting the new guys he finds ourselves in solos, full features and live Internet Webcasts.”

But for now, Castle has a new movie, Buck Naked and Huge, directed by the late Matt Sterling, coming out, and his first Florida shows at Cupids Sports Bar in West Palm Beach are this weekend. He also models for the Fleshjack sex toy. And he has his Man of the Year title and all the glory that goes with it. Forest, who represents previous winners Mark Dalton (2002) and Zeb Atlas (2003 and 2006), says that winning is a “fantastic boost to a stars’ career. It certainly puts a feather in the cap of the winner and makes him very special.”

Despite his schedule, Castle looks fresh when he arrives in New York City the next day for the Derek and Romaine radio show. Casually dressed in a T-shirt and camouflage pants, the handsome star admits to being tired and bemoans the fact that he gets to spend so little time at the house he bought in Los Angeles last year. “I like to travel,” he says, “but the hardest part is finding a balance, so I can take time for myself.” And for his girlfriend, a former porn actress he brings along to the studio. Castle says that the woman in his life is “still in awe of how this has all blown-up.”

As for his future with guys on film, Castle is doubtful that he will ever do a full-on sex scene. “I never say never, but I don’t think that will happen.” He’s just content to hit the gym (“Having this body is a full-time job,” he says) and see what happens next. “I don’t take things too seriously. This is all cool. I’m having a good run, and Man of the Year is definitely a good accomplishment. So I’ll do this for a little bit and see where it takes me.”

5 comments:

Very interesting article. Johnny is indeed a gorgeous hunk of masculinity. I've hoped for a long time that he would do some guy/guy hardcore, but doesn't sound like he will. It was very interesting that things kicked into high gear when he began doing the gay modeling. He said he also realized who his audience is. Despite all the str8 porn, I guess the gay consumer is where it's at.

Who cares? The guy is boring. There are buffer, more handsome, more engaging dudes having hardcore sex with other dudes on sites like Sean Cody, Activeduty, and Corbin Fisher every day. Hot guys like Danny on Sean Cody are banging dudes and pleasing fans because they deliver the goods. In contrast, Johnny Castle has not had sex with a dude on camera, which makes him boring. Sorry Johnny, but solo scenes are so tired.

Hey Vince, this is a nice interview. I like the way you personalize the experience. It's always cool to find out more about what goes on in the mind of a straight guy who knows he's got a gay following. I tend to find the straight models I've worked with say they're more comfortable on the set because they don't feel like they have to prove anything. Interesting.

About Vincent Lambert

Vincent Lambert is a New York–based journalist, blogger and photographer who has covered the adult-entertainment industry since 1996. He has written for numerous publications, including Adult Video News, GAYVN, XBIZ, Adam Gay Film & Video Directory, Unzipped, Freshmen, Men, Latin Inches, Black Inches, All-Man, Manshots, Inside Porn and HX. Lambert has interviewed some of gay porn’s brightest stars—such as Jeff Stryker, Ryan Idol and Zeb Atlas—and reported on a variety of events, including Will Clark’s Bad Boys Pool Party and the Gay Erotic Expo. He also served as a judge for the GAYVN Awards for 12 years. In 2006, Lambert stepped behind the camera to write and direct his first scene, titled “Sex Party for Two,” for Lucas Entertainment’s “Encounters 2: The Point of No Return.” In 2007, he created his popular site VincentLambert.com, which features news, gossip and information. His short stories appear in three books from German publisher Bruno Gmünder. E-mail him at VincentLambertNYC@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @VinceLambertNYC.